THE CRACK EPIDEMIC

The scourge of crack cocaine is popularly viewed as a problem that happens
to somebody else, in some other part of town.

It conjures images of infamous drug havens such as "The Hill" near Ray
Warren Homes or the shadowy street corners near Morningside Homes.
Fortunately, both of those sad, mean places have been swept aside by
redevelopment. But like the scattering cockroaches that Greensboro Police
Chief David Wray likens them to, the dealers merely find new places to
peddle hopelessness.

As this week's series by staff writer Stan Swofford notes, crack affects us
all in one way or another. It is a factor in 40 percent of Guilford
County's child abuse or neglect cases. It is connected to a staggering 70
percent of all homicides in Greensboro and High Point. It contributes to
the notoriously high occurrence of HIV/AIDs and syphilis in the county
because it encourages prostitution.

And it stuffs already overcrowded local jails with more inmates. Of the
approximately 840 inmates in the High Point and Greensboro jails, 40
percent of them have committed crimes connected to crack cocaine. The
estimated cost of their jail stays: $7.2 million a year.

There is no single solution to crack's mounting toll on this community. But
several approaches hold promise:

Increase longer-term treatment. Because crack addicts don't require the
intense detoxification that other substance abusers undergo, most are
released so quickly from rehabilitation -- as little as two days -- that
they immediately return to the surroundings that nurtured their addictions
in the first place. Longer-term care, which is scarce in Guilford County,
allows more time for counseling and support and is more likely to break the
cycle of addiction.

Make police enforcement more visible. The Greensboro police have revived
TSET, or Tactical Special Enforcement Teams, that target drug-infested
areas. Such a presence helps embolden communities to take collective stands
against drug dealers.

Explore alternative sentencing programs. The still relatively new Guilford
County drug treatment court seeks to help nonviolent addicts undergo
treatment and counseling instead of sentences. In an even more novel
response, High Point police have offered street dealers in the drug-ravaged
West End neighborhood a choice between jail time or jobs.

The approach has not saved every soul. But out of nine dealers involved in
the program, one is receiving treatment and four have jobs, one of them a
full-time position with the High Point Parks and Recreation Department. And
violent crime has dropped 78 percent in West End.

So, which of these remedies works best?

All of the above: a holistic mix of tough, sustained enforcement, expanded
treatment options and, most importantly, partnerships among the courts, the
police and the community. Crack is less likely to survive where it isn't
tolerated -- where a community steps up to say in unison: Not here. Not anymore.